Roast Pork over Noodles ($4.00 [YEAH ONLY F-O-U-R!!!])

The greatest thing about Chinatown is that it’s always a hustlin’ even at 9:30am in the morning. I felt a bit guilty for depriving Moses and Joy an extra two hours of sleep, but that’s the problem with coming into NYC each time. I end up eating like 3+ meals and obviously, I need to somewhat space them apart.

So we met at Chinatown, possibly Moses’s favorite part of the city. Cheap food + heaping portions + authentic food = just as a satisfied food experience as my $50 dinners.

Like every other noodleshop in Chinatown, Great NY Noodletown not only has a FOB name, but it also has a window display of hanging ducks, chicken, and pigs. It’s quite beautiful, actually. Normally, I wouldn’t consider hanging carcasses of dead poultry “beautiful,” but when you look at that browned-crisped skin with the grease just dripping from the wires, it’s actually quite mouth watering. Obviously, I was going to order something from this display.

Joy (Moses’s girlfriend) says that Moses has not only opened her tastebuds to a wide range of Asian foods, but her chopstick skills have also exponentially improved. She had congee only once before and took an immediate liking to it. But am I the only one who gets freaked out by the thought and texture of congee? It’s like rice, in a soup!

Beef Congee ($4)

I do have to admit- that looked delicious especially with the sprinkle of scallions. Joy couldn’t finish it all (to her credit, it was 10am) so Moses finished it off. I think that happens alot…

You Tiao ($0.50)

There was a bit of misunderstanding as I asked for “tianyou tiao” which essentially translates to “sweet oil stick.” The sweet ones are usually a bit bigger, made in a loop with a center full of sweet crumbly sugar. Instead, they brought out the “you tiao” which is the nonsweet version since they didn’t have the sweet ones. Moses says that you’re supposed to dip it into congee (I never knew that). The you tiao was okay, nothing special. Then again, how special can fried sticks of dough possibly be? Usually they’re around $1 but this was super-cheap, half off!

I chose pork because eating duck is just too tiring. You have to spit out the bones, pick out the skin, etc… But the roast pork! Forget out eliminating the fatty parts! It was just so tender and saturated with that “roast bbq” taste. It wasn’t salty or anything either. They give you so much pork and so much egg noodles that I couldn’t finish it. Definitely worth the $4. Now, it’s obviously not going to be the best bowl of roast pork over noodles, but I have to say, it comes pretty close! Some greens would have been good though (psychologically at least).

Roast Duck on Rice ($4.00)

Moses chose his duck over rice, which was served with some green cabbage. Moses apparently likes to drench his duck in that roast bbq sauce and so when he asked for duck sauce (while pointing at the duck), they literally gave him duck sauce, which is the sweet orange sauce that you traditionally get when dipping those fried wonton strips as apps at Chinese restaurants. But he seemed to enjoy the duck after pouring a drenching amount of soy sauce over the duck…

And then, he cleaned off every last bit (maybe not every last grain though)

Well Mo-Lo! I will miss you and your sarcasm towards everything American. See you in down in Sydney!

Tbe service isn’t exactly the best. They bring out green tea immediately and it took forever for them to refill our teas, but after awhile, they were quite good about it. Best of all, when the check came, IT WAS ONLY $12.50!!! The food is definitely bang for your buck and actually beats some places that sell noodles at $10 a bowl. It’s a bit far down in Chinatown on Bowery by the bridge, but if you’re nearby, definitely worth the visit!

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28 Bowery
New York, NY 10013
at Bayard St.  See Map | Subway Directions
212-349-0923 Send to Phone

I think that the duck is a spectacular creature. They may glide gracefully along the surface of water but down below, their tiny webbed feet are frantically peddling away. It’s tough to maintain that image, but they do it.

Actually, I think that the duck is superior to all other types of poultry. Let’s take the chicken as a comparison. Even though you can eat chicken roasted, fried, baked, and whatever, the chicken can never come near to the way duck is cooked. I guess as someone who’s always had Chinese roasted duck, I’m really into the skin. The layer of fat below the skin of duck gives it this indescribable flavor. The skin also crisps up to a way that crunches when you bite into it, but somehow melts away as you chew. Man, I really like duck.

Even though I really like duck, I rarely eat it except when at home. Sometimes I’ll order duck entrees at restaurants, but surprisingly, the western way of cooking duck can never compare to the Asian way. I remember in Budapest, I ordered this duck confit dish, which although delicious, was such a shame because it didn’t leverage the qualities that duck has over other types of poultry. Okay, I don’t  know what I’m really talking about. All I know is that duck is unique but I can’t explain why. And I can’t believe that I used the word “leverage” but I can’t think of any other words. I guess that’s what happens when you’ve spent half a semester figuring out how a company can best leverage its competitive advantages. Anyway….

Steph also likes duck. So we went to Chinatown partially in search of duck. When I was younger, my parents would always go to this place called 大王 or in plain English, BIG WONG. Except, I never knew where it was. But, the gods must have been smiling upon us because after just a few seconds of random wandering, I was like, “Oh look! There it is!”

And yes, it’s Zagat rated! Who would have expected that such a dingy place would be Zagat rated, but the food is so good! And so cheap! I got duck over rice and it was only $4.25! Steph ordered the duck with noodles at only $6. It was so filling and so yummy. I almost succumbed to eating the fat (okay, I know that sounds disgusting), but in the end, I separated the skin from the fat. Steph was quite deft at it, more so than I can ever be. I think I was just so excited at the thought of eating duck that I ended up inhaling the whole thing.

The dishes are really simple. Like the rice is served with a drizzle of soy sauce and then they plop the duck on top of the rice. Steph’s noodles were really good. I think if I go again, I’ll get that because it looked more filling.

I love these things. I have absolutely no idea what they’re called in English, but I can describe them! They’re like fried pieces of dough with a Chinese sort of sweet crumble on top. Boy this is so unhealthy. Like I could probably soak at least 3 sheets of paper towels in complete oil from one of these. Hey, you only live once. And it’s only a dollar. So how can you pass up  such a great opportunity? Like having a delicious heart attack for only a buck?

The meal was so cheap. I think we each paid like $6… with drinks.

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102 Mott Street
(between Canal St & Hester St)
New York, NY 10013
(212) 274-0696

(Chinatown, meet Trevor and Yael)

This past Friday, I finally had an opportunity to go on a walking food tour paid for by NYU Student Affairs. The tour was more of an informational one rather than food, but it’s always nice to learn a bit of history in the city that you live in. I learned that the Chinese stayed in what is considered to be main Chinatown downtown by Confucius plaza because of this old post road that used to run from DC to Philly to NYC to Boston. They became the first to set up overnight laundry centers and make decent food on the fly.

It was a completely gorgeous day, temperature hitting in the 80’s and we left around 1:30pm. We arrived at the Broadway/Nassau stop on the C train because our tour guide wanted to show us the point where Chinatown started.

Our first food stop was at Fried Dumpling. I wonder what they serve…

We each had a choice: either 5 fried dumplings or a pint of sweet and sour soup. Obviously, I chose the pork fried dumplings.

(Gosh, a bit dingy, don’t you think?)

I mean, they weren’t fantastic, but they were decent. There was too much pork for my liking and alot of fat in the pork at that. But, they’re only $1 for 5!

(Yael enjoys her Sweet & Sour soup!)

After some more talking from our tour guide, we finally arrived for our “Dim Sum” sample. I was extremely disappointed that it was just a spring roll. I mean, it was huge, but that’s not Dim Sum!! I expected something a bit more exotic and maybe a bit more of a variety? After all, you pick at least 5 varieties of dishes when you go to Dim Sum!

But, we still enjoyed our oh so greasy spring rolls. The thing couldn’t have been greasier. Maybe that’s why it was so good? It was vegetarian too.

Our last and final stop was at the Ice Cream palace! Regularly, the scoops are at an astounding $3.75 per. I could have sworn it was cheaper when I went two years ago, but I guess that’s inflation at its best. We had the choice between lychee and green tea. I chose green tea to be safe although I really wanted to try lychee.  The green tea was creamy and sweet; not at all bitter like how some places serve it. And, it’s a light and playful green. Definitely used some bright food coloring in that one!

Trevor decided to be audacious and order the lychee, which was also good (depending on preference). Personally, I thought it was too overwhelming with lychee-ness but he enjoyed it.

The tour regularly costs $21. I think all of the food together might have cost less than $5? Also, the tour guide didn’t even talk about the food. It was as if they picked the cheapest spots for food along the way. So unless if you’re on the tour to learn about Chinatown and its history, I’d skip out on this food walking tour. That being said, I did learn alot and our tour guide Rick, was awesome!
NYC Discovery Chinatown Walking Tour

This tour of the largest Chinatown in North America features stops at Confucius Plaza, the site of the notorious Five Points slum made famous in Gangs of New York, Mott Street, and the residence of Sun-Yat-sen. Along the way, sample ethnic specialties, from dim sum and dumpling to green tea ice cream.
212-465-3331

This was a Sabrina pick and with most Sabrina picks, it turned out to be an Asian restaurant. I was okay with it since it was Malaysian and I haven’t had much real Malaysian food. Needless to say, the place didn’t disappoint though it didn’t impress me to the point where I’d go back again.

You know how when you go to your typical Chinatown restaurant and no matter what type of noodle dish you order they all have that same taste? That damn soy-sauce taste hit me on the first bite. I ordered the Chow Kueh Teow, which is fried flat rice noodles with shrimp, squid, bean sprouts, eggs, soy sauce, and chili paste so I guess I had that soy sauce taste coming. If you like seafood, this place gives you plenty. Sabrina, on the other hand, ordered the Mee Siam, which instead had its flavor from a spicy Thai chili sauce with peanuts. I liked her dish better.

I almost forgot about the appetizer. We ordered the homemade Roti Canai, which is essentially an Indian pancake. I think it was the most popular appetizer. It wasn’t big, but it was enough for two. The dipping sauce was made out of curry chicken. It was definitely a good way to start off the meal, although both the pancake roti and the dipping sauce were a bit oily.

The decor was above average for its price. It’s not as hip as spice or as romance as Cafetasia, but it has a large wall adorned with a rendering of Chinatown made from watermark. There’s also this strip of wall that’s aligned with stone and the whole place has a very earth-tone/woody feel. Service is your usual, don’t expect to get pampered. The best part was we walked out spending less than $10 a piece.

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194 Grand St.
New York, NY 10013
Near Mulberry St.
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212-334-3669